DOCA-OFED Installation

DOCA-OFED is the modern software stack for NVIDIA InfiniBand and Ethernet adapters, replacing the legacy MLNX_OFED.

Overview

MLNX_OFED: The legacy OpenFabrics Enterprise Distribution for Mellanox adapters.
- Status: Deprecated.
- EOL: October 2027.
DOCA-OFED: The new unified driver stack compatible with the NVIDIA DOCA framework.
- Support: Includes all MLNX_OFED drivers plus DOCA libraries.
- Compatibility: Designed for BlueField DPUs and ConnectX HCAs.

Installation Profiles

DOCA-OFED offers several installation profiles tailored to specific needs:

Profile	Description
DOCA-OFED	Drop-in replacement for MLNX_OFED. Ideal for legacy deployments.
DOCA-ROCE	For users needing Ethernet + RDMA (RoCE) support.
DOCA-Networking	Includes only networking-related DOCA components.
DOCA-ALL	Full DOCA suite with all functionality.

Installation Steps

1. Preparation

Before starting, gather system information and verify hardware.

# Check current OFED version
ofed_info -s

# Check OS version
uname -a
cat /etc/os-release

# Identify NVIDIA adapters
lspci -v | grep Mellanox

2. Download Package

Download the appropriate DOCA-Host package from the NVIDIA DOCA Downloads page.

Select Product: Host-Server (or BlueField).
Select OS/Distro: Your Linux distribution and version.
Select CPU Arch: e.g., x86_64 or aarch64.
Select Profile: Typically doca-ofed.
Select Installer Type: Local (.deb/.rpm) or Network Repo.

3. Uninstall Legacy Drivers

Critical: You must uninstall any existing MLNX_OFED drivers before installing DOCA-OFED.

# Using the uninstall script (if available)
sudo /usr/sbin/ofed_uninstall.sh

# Or using package manager (Debian/Ubuntu example)
for p in $(dpkg --list | grep doca | awk '{print $2}'); do
    echo $p;
    sudo apt remove --purge $p -y;
done
sudo apt-get autoremove

4. Install DOCA-OFED

Install the new package using your distribution’s package manager.

Debian/Ubuntu Example:

# Unpack the repository package
sudo dpkg -i doca-host_<version>.deb

# Update package lists
sudo apt-get update

# Install DOCA-OFED
sudo apt-get install -y doca-ofed

5. Verify Installation

After installation completes, restart the driver service and verify the status.

# Restart the driver
sudo /etc/init.d/openibd restart

# Verify version
sudo ofed_info -s

# Check HCA status
sudo ibstat